McCaul: Putin 'Responsible and Complicit' in MH17 Crash

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said that Vladimir Putin is “responsible and complicit” in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in an interview on Sunday’s “State of the Union” on CNN. “I think this is a game changer what happened, the downing of this commercial flight by separatists tied to Putin. I think Putin is responsible and complicit for what happened.” McCaul stated.

“I believe…that Mr. Putin is returning to a Cold War mentality. When I was over there you could see this nationalistic pride, a sort of resurgence to regain the glory of the old days of the Soviet Empire” he added, citing the annexation of Crimea and arming of pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine as examples. McCaul also declared that Russia poses “a threat of brute force. It’s a threat that could involve submarine warfare. We know that Russia is more fully engaged in every aspect of that type of warfare, and that concerns me from the homeland security standpoint.”